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Jackson County work session, date not confirmed yet

2 h 14 min · 0 public speakers

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Jackson County staff outline $600,000 school remodel and camera upgrade at work session 5:11

  • A staff member asked the board to consider adding a remodel of North Jackson Elementary School for about $600,000 and a 65-camera security upgrade at the Empower facility for about $177,000. 1:08:20
  • The board moved into executive session for personnel and real estate and, after returning, took up a motion to approve personnel recommendations from the superintendent. 1:12:05
Item by item (13)
  1. Call to order and pledge 5:11
    • The October 15th, 2026 work session was called to order, and students from Heroes Elementary led the Pledge of Allegiance. 5:11
  2. Mascot reveal and animal shelter visit 6:16
    • A speaker noted the reveal of the Huskies as the mascot for the new Houston High School and introduced a dog from the Jackson County Animal Shelter available for adoption. 6:16
  3. Superintendent's comments 7:24
    • The superintendent said the board had been named an exemplary school board for the 4th year in a row. 7:29
    • The superintendent said the Niche rankings placed the district 2nd in the Athens area, 20th in Georgia out of 180 districts and number 1 in Jackson County. 8:25
  4. Elementary school initiatives presentation 9:12
    • Heroes Elementary staff presented a Student Advisory Council of 6 students that meets monthly to discuss how the school is doing and brainstorm solutions. 9:12
    • Staff described a new Teacher Academy for first and second year teachers, with 2 sessions so far that focused on classroom management and small group instruction. 12:33
    • Teachers in the academy said observations and debriefs with experienced teachers gave them strategies they applied in their classrooms. 17:32
  5. Student of the month recognition 23:39
    • A senior was recognized as the September Rotary Student of the Month, accompanied by a most influential teacher. 23:39
  6. Graduation rates and assessment day 28:29
    • A staff member said the district graduation rate was up a little over half of a point overall, with East Jackson at 97.1% and the state at 88.5%. 29:28
    • The staff member said all student groups met the state's targets for both 4-year and 5-year graduation rates. 29:54
    • The staff member said a district-wide assessment day next Wednesday would offer the PSAT to 9th and 10th graders and the ACT to 11th and 12th graders. 32:13
  7. Item 33:42
    • A staff member said the program presents to the board each year for approval because it uses federal Perkins funds, and that it was meeting or exceeding 9 out of 10 core indicators. 33:44
    • The staff member said concentrators graduate at 99.4% compared with 98.2% for the state, and that the program was awarded an $81,000 grant from the Top State for Talent for welding lab equipment. 33:44
    • The staff member said 269 students took part in work-based learning with 180 employers, and that program FTE grew from 380 five years ago to 671. 35:36
  8. New high school mascot and branding 50:05
    • A presenter said the district began evaluating possible mascots and colors in 2023 and made a list of options during the '24-'25 year. 50:05
    • The staff member described the logos, colors and field designs and said merchandise shops were available through the district website. 51:43
  9. Enrollment and board policy review 54:55
    • A staff member reported enrollment of 11,671, up 191 over the end of last year, with a little more growth on the west side. 54:55
    • The staff member said revisions to Policies A through C, developed with the Georgia School Board Association and legal counsel, include 2 new policies, 9 retained policies with 7 revised, and 3 redundant policies to be abolished. 54:55
  10. Financial report 58:11
    • A staff member reported a September SPLOST collection of $1.43 million and a month-end SPLOST bank balance of a little over $13 million. 58:11
    • The staff member said the general fund started the year with a $41.2 million fund balance and ended September with $20.5 million, which the staff member called typical before tax collections arrive in December and January. 59:18
  11. Construction project updates 1:02:21
    • A staff member said site work at the K-12 site was well over 90% complete and that the schools there were on time. 1:02:21
    • The staff member said the slab for a 10-classroom addition at East Elementary would be poured at 2:00 a.m., concrete terracing was completed at Legacy Knoll, and HVAC work at Gum Springs was completed. 1:02:21
  12. Proposed remodel and security cameras 1:08:14
    • A staff member asked the board to consider adding a remodel of North Jackson Elementary School classrooms and other spaces for about $600,000, with district staff serving as the contractor. 1:08:20
    • Asked when the work was last done, the staff member said the classrooms had not had significant upgrades in decades. 1:09:26
    • The staff member also proposed installing 65 new cameras at the Empower facility to replace cameras past their end of life, at about $177,000. 1:09:43
  13. Executive session and personnel 1:12:05
    • The board took up a motion to go into executive session for personnel and real estate. 1:12:05
    • After returning, the board took up a motion to approve personnel recommendations from the superintendent, and the meeting was adjourned. 2:13:23

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Who spoke

Who spoke

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Video: posted by the district as “October Board of Education Work Session (10/15/2026)”